Bill and letter filing device



(No Model.)'

J. s. 'VANHORN.

BILL AND. LETTER FILING DEVICE. I v

No. 337,214. Patented Mar. 2; 1886,

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\ Nv PETERS Phnlwlilhogmpber, Walhingtnn. D. C.

wire STATES PATENT rrrcn.

JOSEPH S.-VANHORN, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO \VILLIAM H. WOGLOM, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

BILL AND LETTER FILING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 337,214, dated March 2. 1886;

Application filed December 28,18). Serial No. 186,929. (No model.)

in Bill and Letter Filing Devices, of which the.

following is a specification.

In the use of that class of files which employ perforating-needles as a m'eansfofretaining the letters and bills the sheets are often torn and mutilated in the act offiling andunfiling by reason of the diiiiculty'experienccd in forcing them do'wnon the needles with an equal pressure, and also the inability of the sheets to present sufiicient resistanceat the points of perforation to bear the puncturing action of the ueedles'w'it'h'out tearing, and in consequence of this the filing-perforations are generally of a jagged nature and out of line with each other, and when, as is usually the case, itis frequently necessary to unfile these papers for reference the perforations are gradually enlarged until they tear through to the edge of the sheet, thus greatly mutilating it. It has also been found diflicultin using these files to so deposit the sheets one on the other as to cause their filing-edges to form a regular and even outline, so that when they are removed from the file for permanent binding it is usually necessary to take them off one by one and replace them on each other in aregular and even mannerpreparatory to their final fastening together, whether by a binder or by strings, as is most generally done where the filing-needles are hollow.

My invention therefore has for its'obj ect the production of a device which shall enablethe operator to file and unfile his letters, 810., in an accurate and easy manner, and without danger of mutilation, and by which he can temporarily fasten together a number of current letters or bills, to which he may wish to refer, and remove them bodily from the file without in any way injuring or interfering with the others.

To this end my invention consists in a plate or clasp adapted to overlie the top of the paper, and having an abutting stop or shoulder for the top edge of the paper to fit against, and perforated with holes or notches to permit the passage of the filing-needles, said plate being preferably made in two leaves in the form of a U shaped clasp,as hereinafter fully set forth. By the use ofsuch a device each paper or set of papers can be filed or unfiled in an even and accurate manner without mutilation, or theexercise of auyskill on the part of the op erator, as hereinafter more fully set forth.

Figure l of the annexed drawings is a per: spective view'of my improved tiling device in its preferred form. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, showing the operation ,of the device in connection with a file of the described kind. Fig. 3 is aside elevation of a file with my improved fili ug device, (shown partly in section,) and illustrating the action of the device in fi'ling a paper.- Fig. 4is a perspective view of a'm'odifie'd form of my invention.

It will be seen on reference to Fig. 1 that my device consists, essentially, of a plate or leaf, a, preferably made of sheet metal, and adapted to be placed flatly on the top of the sheet to be filed, and having holes or notches cc at its front edge to correspond with the position of the filing-needles. 75

I prefer to make the device with two leaves or plates, a b, in the form of a U-shaped clasp, as well shown in Figs. 1 and 8, into which the sheet is slipped, so that the end to be filed is firmly embraced thereby, and I prefer to have the two leaves hinged together at the back edge or shoulder, d, as seen in Fig. 1; but the device may be simply bent from one piece of sheet metal in the form of a U, as in Fig. 4:. In either case the back hinge or bend, d, forms 8 5 a gage stop or shoulder for the edge of the sheet to abut against when inserted in the plate or clasp, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3, and the two leaves enable the sheet to be firmly grasped between them when compressed by the pressgo ure of the fingers, asindicated in Fig. 3. The front edges of the leaves preferably flare outward to more readily admit the insertion of the sheet.

In Figs. 2 and 3, It indicates the base-board 5 of the file, and m m the filing-needles, which may be of the solid or tubular kind; but I here illustrate the simplest form of file, as the construction of the file itself does not concern my invention, which may be used with any file too of this class.

It will now be seen on reference to the drawings that in using my improved filing device the sheet or sheets to be filed are placed between the leaves a and b in such a manner that their edges will abut against the shoulder d, and the operator then presses on the leaves ot'the clasp with his fingers, so as to hold the sheets securely and forces them down on the filing'needles, as shown in Fig. 3. It will be readily understood that in this operation the sheet is supported firmly by the clasp, and is held taut at the points of perforation corresponding to the notches c c, which thus allow the needles to project through and puncture the paper in aclean and sharp manner without tearing or injuring the same, thus enabling the sheets to be filed evenly and accurately without any mutilation.

When it is desired to remove the filed sheets from the needles, one of the leaves is passed under the sheet and the other pressed down on the top, when it can readily be removed without injury, as will be seen.

I have shown both leaves of my filing device as being of equal length and duplicates of each other; but it will be understood that one of the leaves could be shorter than the otherpreferably the under one-and without notches,and the upper leaf might be made with holes for the needles, instead of notches, in which case the clasp could be withdrawn over the tops of the needles.

In the form shown in Fig. 4 Iprel'er to make the clasp springy,with sufificient tension in-its leaves to grasp and hold between them a number of sheets securely, so that any particular set of papers or current letters or bills may be held thereby and removed bodily from the file by the clasp, which will thus act as a temporary binder, and thereby presents a great advantage.

Vhat I claim is 1. A filing device consisting of a leafor plate having an abutting shoulder at its back edge and holes or notches corresponding to the filing-needles at its front edge, substantially as set forth.

2. A filing device consisting of a U-shaped clasp adapted to embrace the sheetto be filed between itsleaves, and having holes or notches corresponding to the filing-needles, substantially as set forth.

3. A filing device consisting of two leaves or plates hinged at their meeting edges and having perforations or notches for the passage of filing-needles, substantially as shown and described.

4. A filing device consisting of two leaves or plates hinged at their meeting edges, and having perforations or notches for the passage of filing-needles, and outwardly-flaring receiving edges, substantially as shown and described.

JOSEPH S. VANHORN. \Vitnesses;

J No. E. GAVIN, CHAS. M. Hloeiss. 

